People Under the Stairs – “Sincerely, the P” review

The People Under the Stairs are a legendary hip hop duo from Los Angeles, California consisting of Thes One & Double K. They dropped a handful of great albums over the past 20 years like Question in the Form of the Answer, O.S.T., …Or Stay Tuned & their previous album 12 Step Program back in 2014. However, Thes One announced his retirement from music just a few months ago & now the 2 are now giving fans their 10th full-length album before officially disbanding.

Things kick off with “Encore”, which really sets the tone over some crowd cheering. The next track “Reach Out” is an emotional look-back at their career while the song “Let the Record Show” is a funky relaxation anthem. The track “Hard” talks about how they’re doper than ever with a perfect scratch-hook & a decent drum-beat while “The Effects of Climate Change on Densely Populated Areas” intellectually touches down on just that over a smooth beat. “The Red Onion Wrap” is a funky party anthem that goes over pretty well while the song “Redeemer” is charismatic crowd mover.

The track “Streetsweeper” gets on the battle tip over a sinister beat while the song “We Get Around” is about how they’ve always done what they did for their fans over a mellow beat. The track “Stars in the House” talks about their impact over a fittingly spacious beat while “Here, for a Good Time” is a predictable party banger. The track “Letter to My Son” is a Thes One solo cut that’s easily one of the most endearing moments on the album while the song “Family Ties” sees the 2 recalling memories with their families over a summery beat. The penultimate track “Dream Sequence ‘88” sees the 2 trading bars back & forth over a guitar while “The Sound of Memory” ends things fantastically with a soulful boom bap beat.

All & all, this was a great way for the duo to go out. There are a few cuts that I can personally do without because I feel like they’re either too predictable or blandly produced, but it really sounds like Thes & Double K took their time with it as it’s a mostly reflective & consistent final bow.

Score: 4/5

Jack Jetson – “Strange Cinema” review

This is the sophomore effort from Nottingham, East Midlands, England, United Kingdom emcee Jack Jetson. Introducing himself in 2012 off his debut EP High 5 & subsequent debut album The Adventures of Johnny Strange under Real Life Drama Records, he would go on to follow these up with his 2nd EP Lo 5preceding Eric the Red from the Creatures of Habit & NLP signing Jack to his own label Lost Scroll Records in addition to having his brother Illinformed produce Strange Cinema in it’s entirety.

“Go Get It” sets up shop by working in this triumphant boom bap instrumental talking about wanting to rule the world similarly to 魔ま人じんブウ of the ドラゴンボール franchise whereas “Strange World” takes a soulfully dusty approach to the beat speaking of pushing white bricks & nice whips. “Time Flies” continues the sampling of soul music throwing some strings in the equation to discuss life shit leading into the crooning “Overdose” talking about shaving haters off like Britney Spears infamously did.

Former 3-time WWE world champion, 4-time WWE Intercontinental Champion, 3-time WWE Hardcore Champion, 3-time TNA World Champion, ΩCW Heavyweight Champion, 8-time WWE Tag Team Champion, ROH World Tag Team Champion, HOG Tag Team Champion, 2-time ΩCW Tag Team Champion, 2-time TNA World Tag Team Champion & The Crash Mundial Parejas Campeon Jeff Hardy gets referenced at the backend “4777” prior to Sean Peng & Smellington Piff joining Jack to talk about what “Paradise” means to them.

“Kandinsky” radiates a gospel-influenced boom bap atmosphere comparing himself to the abstract art pioneer Wassily Kandinsky just before “Flashing Lights” jazzily talks about being more elusive than camouflage soldiers hiding amongst the trees. “Creatures” has an eerier jazz rap flare to it talking about the earthquake upon the island of his mind’s eye “Spells” featuring Smellington Piff reunites the pair 1 last time referencing the late IWGPジュニアヘビー級チャンピオン, WWE Intercontinental Champion & 4-time WWE Tag Team Champion Owen Hart.

The song “Vices” comes off feeling more of like a 62 second breather talking about seeing double while “G.O.D.” gets back to kicking some jazzy boom bap flavor asking if anyone’s ever seen a higher power in the flesh. “Gone” soulfully talks about leaving a place that he’s always considered home until this point while the delicately sampled boom bap crossover “High Ona Hill” recalls him rolling through some valleys off pill, “1 Day” wraps things up soulfully promising himself he’ll make it out of this funk he’s been in.

Rather than having Leaf Dog coming back behind the boards like The Adventures of Johnny Strange, it makes more than enough sense from my perspective to have his brother handle all of Strange Cinema’s beats since the follow-up rivals it’s predecessor 5 years earlier as well as further establishing Lost Scroll Records amongst the biggest forces in the UK underground. Illinformed’s boom bap production is more jazzier & soulful compared to Leaf’s, reserving the guests for only a couple of his NLP brethren so Jack Jetson can primarily shine by himself lyrically.

Score: 4/5

Joker Starr – “G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven)” review

This is the 4th studio LP from Slough, Berkshire, England, United Kingdom emcee/producer Joker Starr. Dropping his debut mixtape Raw Spittage in 2011, he would go on to follow it up with all 3 of his previous full-lengths as well as 3 extended plays & a beat tape. London veteran Micall Parknsun being brought in to produce a vast majority of G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven) though had me intrigued regarding whether or not it could become Joker Starr’s most crucial statement yet as someone who appreciates Micall’s dexterity.

After the “Facing the Lion” intro, “There’s No God” combines some drums & a vocal sample to talk about certain people not seeing progress because they’re not ready for it including a jab at 2 Chainz whereas “Pay Cuts” after the “Tom & Jerry” skit works in some chimes responding to politicians thinking the people aren’t keeping score. “Gawd’s Black” featuring Micall Parknsun & OphQi later finds the trio teaming up so they can talk about black excellence

“Lawful Killing (Mark Duggan)” featuring Anyway tha God links up for a powerful collaboration remembering the man who was shot dead by police in 2011 over a boom bap instrumental just before Micall Parknsun hops on the mic again so he & Joker Starr can tell everyone to “Move Back Out the Way” over a weepy beat. “Pam Grier” featuring OphQi reunites the pair goes for a jazzier vibe talking about women who aren’t basic leading into the “Polygamy” skit.

Sarai Jazz appears for the soulful “Soul Tied” describing 2 romantic partners bound by their love for each other & after the “Limba Power” skit, “Idi Amin” embraces a jazzier sound talking about laying muhfuckas down. “Papal Bull” spends nearly a couple minutes revisiting the pro-black themes from earlier & the final song “Farrakhan” featuring Micall Parknsun preceding the “Bundo Devil” outro talks about bringing the essence back in the right direction.

Blood-Ren still contains some of the greatest songs Joker Starr has recorded, but G.A.W.D. (God And Wisdom Driven) marks a significant improvement above the likes of the Northborough Estate Project or MACKnificent in achieving what I had hoped to become the finest album of his career. Although he’s always had energy & personality, Micall Parknsun’s production matched with the brief list of guests each hone in on both of those characteristics to captivating results.

Score: 4/5

Westside Boogie – “Everything’s for Sale” review

Westside Boogie is a 29 year old MC from Compton, California who first broke out onto the scene in 2014 with his 1st mixtape Thirst 48, eventually following it up with The Reach exactly a year later as well as Thirst 48, Pt. II the year after that. This would eventually catch the attention of Detroit icon Eminem, who signed Boogie to his Interscope Records imprint Shady Records in late 2017. He then gained even more exposure with a pretty great feature on “Dumb” off of Royce da 5’9”’s latest album Book of Ryan but now almost 9 months later, he’s ready to deliver to his full-length debut.

Things kick off with “Tired (Reflections)”, where Westside Boogie talks about what he’s sick of over a mellow beat. The next track “Silent Ride” talks about being detached over a flute-heavy instrumental while the song “Swapmeet” is an pretty, acoustic love ballad. The track “LOL SMH” talks about his baby momma over a smooth beat with a nice switch-up during the 2nd half while the song “Soho” with J.I.D sees the 2 talking about being sick of people tryin’ to be cool with them now that they’re famous over a banger beat. The track “Skydive” is another acoustic love tune while the song “Live 95” talks about being broke & the beat has a great vintage West Coast vibe to it.

The track “Rainy Days” with Eminem sees the 2 talking about not wanting to be forgotten over a monstrous trap beat from S1 & STREETRUNNER that kinda sounds like it was made during the sessions of Em’s latest album KAMIKAZƎ, but it’s still enjoyable. The song “Skydive II” is pretty much a reprise of the predecessor & while it’s not bad, but it should’ve been merged together with the first one because it seems so out of place standing by itself. The track “Whose Fault” reflects on the arguments he’s had with his baby mama over a somber beat while the song “No Warning” talks about his toxic attitude over a minimalist beat with some gloomy piano chords. The penultimate track “Self Destruction” talks about his ignorance over a nocturnal trap beat & then the closer “Time” with Snoh Aalegra is a corny duet about Boogie treating Snoh like a side-chick

Overall, this is Westside Boogie’s best work yet. The production’s more refined in comparison to his mixtapes & I feel like we get a greater glimpse of who he is. Definitely a solid beginning for Shady Records’ next big star.

Score: 3.5/5

Drive-By – “4 the OG’s” review

Drive-By is a gangsta rap duo from Detroit, Michigan consisting of Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Anybody Killa. Both of whom the Insane Clown Posse signed to Psychopathic Records as solo artists in the early 2000s once juggalos began accepting their childhood friends Twiztid, dropping Pony Down in the fall of 2005 under the label that runs beneath the streets to fan backlash. Back on da Block & Run These Streets their own imprints Grundy Entertainment & Native World Inc., enlisting Majik Ninja Entertainment in-house producer Godsynth to fully produce their 4th extended play.

After the intro, “Fresh on the Scene” begins with a trap intro where Blaze & ABK are talking about pullin’ up lookin’ clean whereas “A Little Crazy” discusses the fact everyone has a bit of a looney side to them. “Black Dickies” reached the halfway point of the EP talking about being eastside family & after “In the News Again” discusses being wanted for criminal activity, “Shit Gets Real” takes a few minutes to explain what happens when things get serious. “Workin’ Girl” wasn’t that great of an outro however, falling flat as a club anthem.

Back on da Block & Run These Streets each have moments I find myself going back to more than Pony Down, but 4 the OG’s makes up for Drive-By’s lackluster debut over a decade ago with the best EP Blaze Ya Dead Homie & Anybody Killa have done as a pairing. Godsynth’s trap production paired with the lyricism toning down the gangsta rap & horrorcore elements in favor of a hardcore style, which I don’t consider that to be a bad thing.

Score: 4/5

Broom Man – “Spoof” review

Manchester, England, United Kingdom emcee Broom Man enlisting London jazz rap/boom bap producer Illinformed to solely produce his solo debut extended play. Someone who up until this point has yet to drop a collection of material under his own name, yet was introduced to him through his appearances on Cult of the Damned leader Lee Scott’s sophomore effort Stupid Poignant Sh!t. And considering that history, it doesn’t come as a shock for Blah Records to be the one who’s backing Spoof seeing the light of day.

After the intro, “BRM” hooks up a downtrodden boom bap instrumental so the Broom Man can lay out some gritty hardcore lyricism whereas “Safe Safe” works in some pianos mixed with kicks & snares to discuss his shit being pure. “Ovis” featuring Lee Scott finds the pair joining forces over a funky beat so they can talk about their egos driving them to places they didn’t want to go to just before “Astronope” brings some ominous chords in the picture discussing everything being fun & guns until getting stuck up for what you know.

“Monster City” maintains the boom bap vibes talks about being here to kick knowledge instead of lurking across the dance floors while “Kuato” after the “Quaid” interlude eerily speaks of opening our minds. “Zack Morris” gets back on the funkier tip instrumentally talking about being dafter trying to escape the fishnet & after the title track dustily makes it clear he could care less of appealing to a wider crowd, “Mr. Pope” featuring Bisk spends the concluding minutes of Spoof teaming up for a hardcore boom bap outro.

So it turns out the Broom Man began recording Spoof with Illinformed back in 2013 after he had recorded his verse for Stupid Poignant Sh!t until a devastating fire at the Blah Mansion in Blackburn, Lancashire convinced the label that the 22 minute recordings were destroyed & scrapped it. Thankfully, they were able to recover those lost sessions somehow someway & give the world his proper musical introduction outside of guest appearances the way it was initially conceived.

Score: 4/5

Future – “The WIZRD” review

Future is a 35 year old rapper & singer/songwriter from Atlanta, Georgia that blew up at the beginning of the decade bringing his own unique sound to the trap subgenre. He spent 2018 doing features, the soundtrack for the recent Superfly remake, dominating the recent DJ Esco album KOLORBLIND, his BEAST MODE 2 mixtape & the redundant WRLD on Drugs collab with Juice WRLD. But now to bring in the new year, he’s delivering his 7th full-length album.

Things kick off with “Never Stop”, which talks about his come up over a disappointingly generic beat. The next song “Jumpin’ on a Jet” gets boastful over a spacey trap beat from Southside while the track “Rocket Ship” talks about how he’s been popular since his demos over an airy beat. The song “Temptation” is an introspective look at just that over a somber beat from Tay Keith & even though I didn’t care for the track “Crushed Up” at first, it did grow on me a little.

The song “F&N” talks about putting hits out with a pretty cool beat switch during the last minute or so while the track “Call the Coroner” talks about his desire to live like a drug lord over an eerie TM88 beat. The song “Talk Shit Like a Preacher” is a painfully boring bragging anthem while the track “Promise U That” talks about thug love over a spacious, bass heavy Tay Keith beat. The song “Stick To the Models” is another drab brag, but the track “Overdose” does pick back up as he’s flexin’ more charmingly over a Southside & DY beat with some bells.

The song “Krazy But True” talks about his influence over a woozy trap beat from Wheezy while the track “Servin’ Killa Kam” talks about the shit he got over a nondescript beat. The song “Baptiize” talks about his grind over an atmospheric beat that cleverly switches up into a “Slave Master” sample during the second half & even though the track “Unicorn Purp” with Young Thug & Gunna sounds like a leftover from SUPER SLIMEY, the chemistry between the 3 is flawless.

The song “Goin’ Dummi” pretty much speaks for itself over a bland beat while the track “First Off” with Travis Scott is an off the wall wealth anthem. The song “Faceshot” yet again talks about the drug game, but the skrrt adlibs at the start of every verse is annoying. The penultimate track “Ain’t Coming Back” talks about haters over a spacious beat & then the closer “Tricks on Me” talks about fame over a mellow 1985 beat.

This isn’t bad, but it’s not that great either. Not only is there nothing new sonically, but there are quite a bit of filler cuts on here as well. Yet another example of someone as boundary pushing as Future prioritizing quantity over quality.

Score: 3/5

Malibu Ken – Self-titled review

Malibu Ken is a new duo consisting of indietronica producer Tobacco out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania & legendary New York wordsmith Aesop Rock. They announced their formation late last year & after a few singles, they’re delivering their full-length debut with the help off Rhymesayers Entertainment.

The album kicks off with “Corn Maze”, where Rock talks about privacy over an 8-bit sounding instrumental. The song “Tuesday” describes an average titular day over a druggy beat while the track “Save Our Ship” gets cryptic over some synths & guitars. The song “Sword Box” spits battle bars over some haunting synths while the track “Dog Years” looks back at his youth over another 8-bit sounding beat.

The song “Acid King” vividly recalls the story of his friend Gary being murdered over a minimal synth instrumental while the track “Suicide Big Gulp” seems to be discussing depression over a synth-funk beat. The song “1+1=13” talks about luck over a spacious beat while the track “Churro” vividly talks about an eagle killing a cat over over a trippy beat. The album then finishes off with “Purple Moss”, where Aes goes back to a more introspective approach over a somber beat.

Overall, this is a pretty solid album. It’s too short only running at 34 minutes, but Aesop Rock’s lyricism is more intelligent than ever & Tobacco’s synthesizer heavy production suits his stories very well.

Score: 4/5

James Blake – “Assume Form” review

James Blake is a 30 year old singer/songwriter & producer Enfield, London, England United Kingdom who made his critically acclaimed eponymous debut in 2011 under A&M Records. He would move over to Republic Records for an equally praised sophomore effort Overgrown & The Colour in Anything has been considered to be the weakest entry in his whole discography although it’s merely average, coming off the latter with his 4th studio album ahead of his forthcoming North American tour.

The title track starts us off singing to his girlfriend Jameela Jamil over a piano & some strings whereas the cloudy alternative R&B/trap soul single “Mile High” featuring Travis Scott is all about having sex on a plane over a smooth Metro Boomin’ instrumental. “Tell Them” by Moses Sumney is about how he doesn’t plan on staying with this woman over a skeletal Metro beat while “Into the Red” talks about keeping this woman in her life.

“Barefoot in the Park” by Rosalía is a powerfully minimalist ballad sung in Spanish while “Can’t Believe the Way We Flow” seems to tackle loneliness over some background vocals.the song “Are You in Love?” sees James asking this woman if she’s attracted to him over an ambient instrumental with some synthesizers while “Where’s the Catch?” featuring André 3000 talks about how they can’t be deceived over a dark electropop instrumental.

The song “I’ll Come Too” might be my least favorite track here & it has more to do with the stalker-ish lyrics than the mellow beat while “Power On” discusses how he was wrong about this woman over a soothing beat. “Don’t Miss It” talks about his depression over a fusion alternative R&B, art pop, alt-pop, glitch pop, future garage, pop soul & post-dubstep while the album lastly finishes with “Lullaby for My Insomniac”, which is mostly this choral ambient pop piece.

It might not be on par with self-titled or Overgrown, but I can say that I enjoyed Assume Form a lot more than his previous LP. His production refines the fusions of alternative R&B, art pop, ambient pop, UK bass, trap soul, alt-pop, glitch pop, future garage, pop soul & post-dubstep that made The Colour of Anything so different compared to both it’s predecessors aside except it has an upbeat twist to it & he brings a few high profile guests to join him for a look at the way he’s been feeling as of late.

Score: 3.5/5

Gorilla Voltage – “Gods & Claws” review

Gorilla Voltage is a hip hop duo from San Jose, California consisting of Mr. Grey & ClockworC. They originally came up as The Damn Dirty Apes in 2015 & released their self-titled debut that same year, changing their name after Twiztid signed them to Majik Ninja Entertainment on Christmas Day that following year. Their sophomore album Ape-X was released a couple months later & now to kick off 2019, they’re delivering their 3rd full-length album after appearing at the first annual Astronomicon a year ago next month.

The album kicks off with “Handful of Matches”, which talks about arson over a bass heavy beat. The next track “Ape Shit, Pt. 2” serves as a menacing sequel to a highlight off their 2015 debut while the song “Let Go” with Dot Bundini reflects on their past over a boom bap beat with some sinister horns. The track “Good Die Young” talks about how ruthless they are over a boom bap beat with some strings while the song “War Zone Dome” talks about internal conflict over a chaotic beat. The track “Generation Fool” is an adrenaline pumping take on rap metal while the song “Westilence” is filled with vicious battle bars over an instrumental with a prominent tuba.

The track “Feeding Time” brags about them taking over the game over a sinister beat while the song “Rocks in My Socks” talks about drug dealing over a hyphy beat. The track “Spaz Out” is a flawless mosh pit anthem while the song “Doomsday” vividly describes an apocalypse over a booming instrumental with some 8-bit synths. The track “Mad Scientist” with Kung Fu Vampire is a lyrical onslaught over a thumping beat while the song “Pub Crawl” is a flawless display of the duo’s chemistry over a chaotic beat. The penultimate track “No Rivalry” tells the story of a robbery over a monstrous beat & then the closer “Hatefuck” is a beautifully slow, smooth & melodic love anthem.

Ringing in the new year for MNE by delivering their best work yet, Gods & Claws makes some great improvements above Gorilla Voltage’s debut a couple years earlier a while after securing their label deal & dethroning The Damn Dirty Apes. There are some occasional weak spots here & there, but the production & lyricism have both stepped up for the most part & I also love how ClockworC & Mr. Grey take on many different styles of hip hop on here.

Score: 4/5